today, for the series "Small Encyclopaedia dedicated to Brian Molko's tattoos, by Placebo Anyway", I'm going to tell you about another one that immediately aroused my sympathy and intellectual “closeness”, a real statement of intent: the most famous quote attributed to Galileo Galiei tattooed on the inner side of Brian's left forearm, just below the previous tattoo “This too shall pass”
“EPPUR SI MUOVE” (AND YET IT MOVES)
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| Photo credit down below |
⭐ But let's start from the beginning...
...who was GALILEO GALILEI?
Galileo Galilei (1564-1642) is considered the father of modern science and made major contributions to the fields of physics, astronomy, cosmology, mathematics and philosophy.
Galileo Galilei was born in Pisa in 1564. He entered the prestigious University of Pisa at age 16 to study medicine, but was soon sidetracked by mathematics. He left without finishing his degree (yes, Galileo was a college dropout!).
His first important discovery was describing the rules that govern the motion of pendulums.
For 20 years he was chair of mathematics at the universities of Pisa and Padua. During those years he performed the experiments with falling bodies that made his most significant contribution to physics.
In addition, he built his first telescope, and discovered four new “stars” orbiting Jupiter—the planet’s four largest moons, together with a multitude of new stars in the Milky Way.
Galileo’s observations contradicted the Aristotelian view of the universe, then widely accepted by both scientists and theologians. The moon’s rugged surface went against the idea of heavenly perfection, and the orbits of the stars he discovered violated the geocentric notion that the heavens revolved around Earth.
⭐ Galileo Galilei’s Trial:
In 1616 the Catholic Church placed Copernicus’s “De Revolutionibus,” the first modern scientific argument for a heliocentric (sun-centered) universe, on its index of banned books. Pope Paul V summoned Galileo to Rome and told him he could no longer support Copernicus publicly.
Galileo was summoned before the Roman Inquisition in 1633. At first he denied that he had advocated heliocentrism, but later he said he had only done so unintentionally. Galileo was convicted of “vehement suspicion of heresy” and under threat of torture forced to express sorrow and curse his errors.
Nearly 70 at the time of his trial, Galileo lived his last nine years under comfortable house arrest and died in 1642 at age 77.
In 1744 Galileo’s “Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems,” was removed from the Church’s list of banned books, and in the 20th century Popes Pius XII and John Paul II made official statements of regret for how the Church had treated Galileo.
⭐ What was Galileo famous for?
Galileo’s laws of motion paved the way for the codification of classical mechanics by Isaac Newton. Galileo’s heliocentrism (with modifications by Kepler) soon became accepted scientific fact. His inventions, from compasses and balances to improved telescopes and microscopes, revolutionized astronomy and biology. Galilleo discovered craters and mountains on the moon, the phases of Venus, Jupiter’s moons and the stars of the Milky Way.
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| Photo credit: Virgin Radio Italy |
๐ซ✨ EPPUR SI MUOVE ๐ซ✨
“And yet it moves” is the most famous line attributed to Galileo Galilei.
The “it” in the quote refers to Earth. “It moves” was a startling denial of the notion, adopted by the Catholic Church at the time, that Earth was at the center of the universe and therefore stood still. Galileo was convinced that model was wrong. Although he could not prove it, his astronomical observations and his experiments in mechanics led him to conclude that Earth and the other planets were revolving around the sun.
During his trial for suspicion of heresy, Galileo chose his words carefully. It was only after the trial, angered by his conviction no doubt, that he was said to have muttered to the inquisitors, “Eppur si muove”(“And yet it moves)”, as if to say that they may have won this battle, but in the end, truth would win out.
⭐ But did Galileo really utter those famous words?
Science historian Antonio Favaro, who dedicated four decades to the study of Galileo’s life and work, determined that the earliest mention of the phrase in print was in a book entitled “The Italian Library”, published in London in 1757, more than a century after Galileo's death.
Then was it all an invention?
It seemed so, until an intriguing painting appeared.
In 1911 Jules Van Belle, a man who lived in Belgium. claimed to own a painting dating back to 1643 or 1645 (the years following Galileos death) that contained the famous motto.
The painting showed Galileo in prison, holding a nail in his right hand, with which he had apparently traced Earth moving around the sun on the wall with the words “E pur si move” written underneath.
The discovery of the painting definitely had an impact. Until then most historians had considered the famous phrase to be a myth, but the new finding caused a number of Galileo scholars to change their minds.
Since we now know more about the history of the famous scientist and his celebrated motto, what do you guess drove Brian to carve this phrase on his left forearm?
As for me, If I had to think of one word that describes and unites the way of thinking and acting of both Brian and Galileo, it is HERESY, the same heresy for which Galileo was condemned by the Catholic Church almost 400 years ago.
I must admit that “heresy” is a word that I also love very much, and it has a deep meaning for me too.
Here is the etymology of this word, now almost never used, but instead extremely topical even today:
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| Photo credit: Henry Ruggeri |
⭐ HERESY - In ancient Greek, the verb 'hairein,' meaning 'to take,' gave rise to the adjective 'hairetos' 'able to choose' and the noun 'hairesis' 'the act of choosing.' In time the noun developed the extended senses of 'a choice,' 'a course of action,' 'a school of thought,' and 'a philosophical or religious sect.' Stoicism, for example, was a 'hairesis.'
So heretical are those who choose. Certainly for Brian it was much easier to choose at a time when the court of the Roman Holy Inquisition finally only exists in history books!
The imagery of western religions is closely linked to concepts such as fear, punishment, warning, sin.
Something very different compared to the development of an autonomous consciousness that makes us act with respect, tolerance, love towards humanity and the world we have been given as a gift, without the fear of receiving eternal condemnation after death.
Certainly the church has made much progress in this regard in recent years, rehabilitating people who were condemned or even killed as heretical, and recognising their value and the validity of their studies and works that have contributed to the development and improvement of mankind in many areas, but there is still a long way to go...
Brian has always claimed absolute freedom of thought and action, free of any affiliation to religious faiths.
But making such a choice also means taking full responsibility for one's own actions and its consequences, for better or for worse. And he has so far proved exactly that.
Here, then, are some of Brian's statements over the years in which he has reiterated his thoughts in this regard:
๐ข “I don’t believe in God, I’m not a religious person. The spiritual side that exists in everything we do is the humanity, the honesty, the passion, and our own personal truth. There’s a humanist kind of approach to things. When writing the lyrics, my approach to the characters of each song is sympathetic, and that’s what makes it human. That’s the only attitude I believe in.”
(The US Vault Online, 2001)
๐ข "I was raised in evangelical religion. I gave my life to Jesus when I was 11, I took it back when I was 14 years old. But it stays with you for a long time. I remember my mother saying to me, "When Jesus knocks at your door, it's your choice to open the door or let it close, and Jesus will strike for a moment, but then your heart will harden and he will leave."
(Alternative Press, 2001)
Int: Are you religious?
๐ข Brian: No, I'm not.
Int: Were you brought up Catholic?
๐ข Brian: Not Catholic, but very religious. I find it fascinating and it has given me a lot of metaphors that I use in my songs. The Bible is a fascinating book. It has nothing to do with real life. It was written by frustrated people who wanted to control people. It's full of metaphors, full of violence, full of sex, full of incest and so on.
(Brian Molko Interview on “Libertรจ – Egalitรจ – M.A.U.R.A.D.”, 2004)
๐ข “What I like in Buddhism, in opposition to the Judeo-Christian religion, is that ... here, you are punished for your sins, while there, you are punished by your sins, it weighs on your karma. And it seems more realistic to me."
(Paris Match, 2006)
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| Photo credit: Henry Ruggeri |
...(...)
๐ข “I don’t like Western religion. I like Eastern religion very much”.
...(...)
๐ข “I’m very attracted to Buddhism because it’s not about some bearded guy in the sky telling you what to do; it’s about you. And I think if we stopped to actually understand the effects that we have on the world, then we would make the world a better place. Unfortunately, as people we’re all very emotional and our culture is very important in terms of what we choose to believe. I think so many people have ghetto-ised religion and made it into something that is bad, but in fact it’s something that helps us all be better people and that’s what we want.”
(Juice, "Interview with Brian Molko", 2010)
๐ข “I’m interested in Buddhism because it is a philosophy of life rather than a religion. In Buddhism, there’s no god and that is a big part of the attraction for me. Right thoughts, right action. No god, no attachments - no worries.”
(BK, August 22nd, 2013)
๐ข “I’m a student of Buddhism but not a Buddhist. The only group I am part of and responsible for is Placebo.“
(SLAM, Issue 121, April 2022)
And since we couldn't miss references to song lyrics in which Brian clearly expresses his views on religious institutions (Christian in this case), here are quotes from two significant songs that many many years later reiterate Brian's clear views on the matter:
Brian on 'Allergic (To Thoughts Of Mother Earth)':
๐ข “Well that's one of the songs on the album that isn't really a love song. It's a kind of environment versus religion song. It's me having a go at Christians for not giving a shit about the environment basically because to them their rewards will always be in heaven and not on this earth so it really doesn't matter that we're using this place as a fucking garbage tip, you know. And when I first started writing songs I had to shake the spectre of Jesus out of me so I wrote a lot of sort of like' I'm angry about God' songs and it didn't really kind of you know I had to get that out of my system before we started the band really. But it's kind of crept up on me in this... in 'Allergic' you know. It's just kind of having a go really but it's also kind of like saying, you know, that Mother Earth, you know, Mother Nature, is stronger than you and Mother Nature will have her own back.“
(Interview "Placebo In Conversation With Sally Stratton", August 1998)
Brian on 'Fix Yourself'
๐ข 'Fix yourself' is a fuck-you song. It's not about me, it's about all the lying fucking hypocrites out there. The song is directed at everyone who goes around thinking they have to spread their morals. Starting with the church. I don't let any priests tell me how to live or what to think. Let them start with themselves and change their own lives and attitudes!”
(Sรคchsische Zeitung, March 25th 2022)
Int: Do you talk in “Fix Yourself” how you managed to fix yourself?
๐ข Brian: “No, “Fix yourself“ is a “Fuck you“-Song. It is not about me. It is about all those lying, lousy hypocrites out there. “I am bored of your Caucasian Jesus“ is one of my favourite lines, that I’ve ever written. This song is aimed everyone who are walking around and mean that they have to spread their moralities. Starting with the church. I won‘t let a priest tell me how to live or what to think. They should start to change their own lives and own settings by themselves.“
Int:But you are not only angry about the Church?
๐ข Brian:“God, no. To all. Also on these activists on social media, who are making their own god damn personal attitude to the only true one and force it to everyone else. Who do these Keyboard-fascists they are? They don’t have to tell me anything. I am a free spirit and a free thinker.“
(SLAM, Issue 121, April 2022)
And what do you think of Brian's new tattoo?
While thinking about it, let's enjoy with us this live version of Allergic from 1999
https://bit.ly/3MIqD88
Photo credits pic 1: Milanriskyfotograf, Rock Im Park 2022 / Goorazz Tattoo FB page/ thecultof_brianmolko IG account / Edit by Emanuela
Post byEmanuela
